title: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Infections and the Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome.
abstract: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC; Shiga toxin/verotoxin-producing E. coli) can cause bloody diarrhea and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), typically following consumption of contaminated food (including ground beef, leafy greens, and sprouts) and water. Often associated with foodborne outbreaks, EHEC possess unique virulence factors that facilitate effective colonization of the human gastrointestinal tract and subsequent release of Shiga toxin. This article reviews the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, treatment, and prevention of EHEC infections, focusing on E. coli O157:H7, the serotype most common in North America, and E. coli O104:H4, the serotype responsible for the EHEC outbreak in Germany in 2011.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada. APage@mtsinai.on.ca
authors.forename: Andrea V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: W Conrad
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Liles
mesh_terms: D054324:Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006463:Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011322:Primary Prevention; D011379:Prognosis; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology